IBI, community fees and waste: what your landlord can charge you
Community fees and other services are only passed on to the tenant if you agree it in writing with their annual amount. And their increase is capped.
Reviewed on 9 October 2026Sources: Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos · Real Decreto-ley 29/2026Who is behind this
Only with a written agreement and their annual amount
The landlord can only charge you the general costs of the building or services without a meter if you agreed it in writing, with their annual amount as at the date of the agreement (art. 20.1 LAU). Taxes, such as the IBI (property tax), have their own rule: see “IBI and local fees” further down.
If the agreement does not mention them or does not give an amount per year, the review flags it for you to look at.
Real Decreto-ley 29/2026, in force since 8 October 2026 and awaiting validation by Congress, says that, in buildings not under the horizontal property regime (propiedad horizontal), community fees cannot be charged to the tenant (art. 20.1 LAU).
Art. 20.1 LAU · RDL 29/2026
How much they can go up: up to double the rent
In the first five years of the agreement, or seven if the landlord is a company, those charges, except taxes, can only go up once a year, by agreement, and never by more than double what the rent can go up by (art. 20.3 LAU, or art. 20.2 in agreements prior to Real Decreto-ley 29/2026). The review compares each charge for each year with that cap.
Art. 20.3 LAU
IBI and local fees
Real Decreto-ley 29/2026, in force since 8 October 2026 and awaiting validation by Congress, says that taxes on the property, such as the IBI, cannot be charged to the tenant, unless it is the tenant who has to pay them (art. 20.1 LAU). The review applies this to agreements signed from that date; for earlier ones, it gives it as information.
In agreements signed before 8 October 2026, taxes, such as the IBI, could only be passed on to the tenant with a written agreement and with their annual amount as at the date of the agreement (art. 20.1 LAU, in its previous wording).
Art. 20.1 LAU · RDL 29/2026
Worked example
An agreement sets 600,00 € a year in community fees. In the first year, the landlord charges 720,00 €.
The figures There cannot have been any increase yet, so the maximum is the agreed amount, 600,00 €. 720,00 € − 600,00 € = 120,00 € over.
Art. 20 LAU
Check what you are charged
The rental review compares each charge for each year with the agreed amount and with the cap on increases, and tells you how much you have paid over.
Laws
- LAU, art. 20.2 en su redacción anterior al RDL 29/2026 (art. 20.3 desde el 08-10-2026) (Real Decreto-ley 7/2019, de 1 de marzo) in force
- LAU, art. 20.3 en su redacción anterior al RDL 29/2026 (art. 20.4 desde el 08-10-2026) (Ley 29/1994, de 24 de noviembre, de Arrendamientos Urbanos) in force
- art. 3.Doce, que reforma el art. 20.1 de la LAU (Real Decreto-ley 29/2026, de 6 de octubre) awaiting validation by Congress (pendiente de convalidación)
Frequently asked questions
What charges can the landlord make me pay apart from the rent?
The charges that the agreement passes on to the tenant, only if you agreed it in writing and with their annual amount as at the date of the agreement (art. 20 LAU).
How much can those charges go up?
In the first five years of the agreement, or seven if the landlord is a company, those charges, except taxes, can only go up once a year, by agreement, and never by more than double what the rent can go up by (art. 20 LAU).
Can I be charged the IBI?
It depends on when you signed. Real Decreto-ley 29/2026, in force since 8 October 2026 and awaiting validation by Congress, says that taxes on the property, such as the IBI, cannot be charged to the tenant, unless it is the tenant who has to pay them (art. 20.1 LAU). The review applies this to agreements signed from that date; for earlier ones, it gives it as information. In agreements signed before 8 October 2026, taxes, such as the IBI, could only be passed on to the tenant with a written agreement and with their annual amount as at the date of the agreement (art. 20.1 LAU, in its previous wording).